People are asking what my plan is this year. Presumably because it is my third season there is an assumption that there is a clear route, which is far from the case. If I have a plan, it is simply to continue – putting one foot in front of the other. But alongside this gradual perambulation I need to allow time for reflection.
In I Swear I Saw This Michael Taussig says: “The way I see it, a plan of research is little more than an excuse for the real thing to come along”. So I am hoping that my ‘research’ in the form of drawing and conversation will throw something up. Last year the ‘rapture of the archive’ moment happened out of the blue, when I handled a worked stone that appeared to be something a Neolithic person drew with. I really just need to wait and watch.
One of the archaeologists suggested perhaps some group conversation might be interesting. That could be good if it is not to formal and forced.
Meanwhile today’s drawing of a team beginning to extend Trench J could be seen as a metaphor for my situation…
